Kinda Funny Games did an interview with Toys For Bob's Lou Studdert and Paul Yan on Spyro: A Realm Beyond.
Summarization from ResetEra forums:
Vision for Spyro
- The new Spyro is the team's dream project.
- The character is based on the original trilogy: tone, personality, and voice; not a reboot like Legend of Spyro.
- The game is an evolution of the franchise, exploring new locations and expanding the narrative.
- Every Spyro game should have charm, memorable characters, fluid movement, and exploration.
- Gems remain a very important part of the experience.
- They are leaning heavily into the fantasy of being a dragon.
Exploration & Flight
- Players can explore both on the ground and in the air—the choice is theirs.
- Dragon flight is a core addition to Spyro's movement kit.
- Flight was the cornerstone of the project from the beginning, with the world designed around it.
- Flying builds upon the fluid controls and animations from Spyro Reignited Trilogy and adds new ways to explore rather than replacing ground movement.
- Levels feature significantly more verticality and layered environments to support flight.
- The goal is for players to see distant locations and think, "How do I get there?" by combining abilities and environmental interactions.
- They don't want the game to feel like a flight simulator.
Flight mechanics
- Flight is fully active rather than automatic.
- Players must flap Spyro's wings to maintain speed and momentum.
- Diving increases speed.
- Flame breath can ignite campfires to create lift.
- Sky rings provide speed boosts.
- The challenge comes from chaining these mechanics together to stay airborne.
- Spyro's flame breath has greater range while flying, functioning more like fireballs, whereas on the ground it behaves more like a flamethrower.
Design Philosophy
- Spyro is about zen-like, fluid movement through beautiful worlds.
- This is fundamentally different from Crash's precision platforming.
- The studio loves creating colorful characters with exceptional controls.
- There were few games to draw inspiration from for this type of flight system, so much of it required pioneering new ideas.
Why It's Not "Spyro 4"
- Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time continued the original trilogy directly because later entries had drifted away from the original gameplay.
- Spyro is intentionally not numbered to make it welcoming for newcomers.
- It contains references for longtime fans but is designed as a fresh experience anyone can start with.
Relationship to Skylanders
- Nothing carries over from Skylanders besides lessons the team learned about humor.
- The two series exist in completely separate universes.
Development
- Development has been underway for a little over two years.
- The team feels confident about a Spring 2027 release.
- Their preferred development cycle is around 2–3 years.
- They describe themselves as a nimble, efficient studio with strong scope management.
- There were moments where the project became over-scoped, requiring difficult cuts to stay on budget and schedule.
Toys for Bob & Independence
- The team originally wanted to work on Spyro but was assigned to Crash Bandicoot 4.
- They later pitched a new Spyro game to Xbox alongside their proposal to become an independent studio.
- Transitioning to independence was smooth, although establishing the new company required significant work.
- They had a strong relationship with Activision, but the pandemic changed priorities.
- The studio was required to support projects like Warzone and Overwatch 2.
- Toys for Bob eventually split into multiple teams and felt they were moving away from the types of games they loved making.
- After Microsoft's acquisition of Activision, they sought independence to focus on those games again.
- Xbox leadership supported this decision.
- The studio operates fully remotely, having shipped Crash Bandicoot 4, Crash Team Rumble, and their support work on Warzone remotely.
Choosing Spyro
- The team has many original ideas.
- Spyro was chosen because it made the strongest business case, particularly due to its sales history.
- They prefer working with established characters because timeless franchises come with passionate existing audiences.
Crash Team Rumble
- Crash Team Rumble was not created because of the live-service trend.
- The concept was prototyped before Crash Bandicoot 4.
- The goal was to make a Crash spinoff that still felt like Crash rather than another racing game.
The Future of 3D Platformers
- They believe 3D platformers are experiencing a resurgence.
- Examples mentioned include Astro Bot and the Rayman remake.
- Spyro and Crash have very different gameplay philosophies, making another crossover game difficult.
- The team are huge fans of Banjo-Kazooie and would love to work on the series if given the opportunity, describing those games as timeless.
